Things are heating up even more in the e-book market with Amazon’s announcement of the new Kindle. It’s not called the Kindle 3 or anything (just the sticking with the same name). It’s smaller, lighter, claims to last for up to a month (!) on a single charge, plus it’s being released in both Wi-Fi and 3G versions.
Another shot at its competitors is the fact that it’s a little bit cheaper than the Kobo at $139 US. The prices keep dropping and the value keeps going up.
The looks are more streamlined, and basic black is what Kindle is wearing this time out (or graphite to be exact). More contrast, faster page turns, 4GB of internal storage (3500 books, according to Amazon). What’s not to love? Well, the black and white e-ink, and prefixing their browser experience with “experimental” isn’t compelling.
“But why not just shell out the extra money for an iPad?” you might ask.
Amazon’s thinking that there’s a whole lot of tablets being worked on that are going to hit market soon, and are focusing on being a go-to product for a single purpose. And there’s advantages: you can read a Kindle book outside in the sun, it’s much lighter than an iPad (and other tablets) and it’s more of a one-handed paperback experience with its 6 inch screen as opposed to a tablet’s hardcover-esque experience with an 8 to 11 inch screen.
It’s like picking between a fork and a spoon, you gotta know what kind of food you’re gonna eat. Personally, I go iPad but if I actually visited the outdoors occasionally to lounge around and read I’d likely go Kindle.
Kindle ships at the end of August. In the meantime, you bargain hunters should keep an eye out for cheap used Kindle 1 and 2!
Source: GetConnected
